Assistance available for those hit hard by economy

With the economy still sucking wind, a local economic summit of sorts was held on Tuesday in Joplin to remind area businesses and those without jobs that, yes, there is help out there.

The Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, in partnership with the Missouri Career Center, launched an awareness program promoting new and existing services for job seekers and employers for continued economic recovery in the area.

“A common theme among economic recovery initiatives is the need for high-impact, high-volume and low-cost solutions to meet higher system demands for skill and return on investment,” said Jasen Jones, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board. “We’ve risen to meet this challenge with an array of demand-driven economic development strategies.”

These strategies include improving digital literacy so job seekers are able to apply for jobs utilizing computers and the Internet; occupational skills training to target skill demands by employers; on-the-job training, which offers immediate job placement with results-oriented training; entrepreneurial training; demand-driven sector testing and screening; technology/Internet-based learning; and a summer jobs program for young people who are mentored by experienced workers.

During this ongoing awareness program, workforce professionals at the WIB and Career Center will increase visibility of employer services, including video interviewing, applicant screening and computerized job matches, as well as services for job seekers, which include job searching assistance, retraining and various assessments designed to help identify job skills and interests.

Jones called what they do and what they have to offer one of the area’s “best kept secrets.”

“We just wish to see it more easily recognized,” he said. When they speak to businesses, he loves seeing the light bulbs wink on. “We just wish more knew about us so that wouldn’t happen.”

Leslie Adams, Rapid Response and Project Coordinator for the Workforce Investment Board, told a quick story about helping out folks who lost jobs with O’Sullivan. When she was helping out at a recent job fair at Missouri Southern State University, this woman approached Adams “and thanked us so much for all we did for her — she had gone back to school, had almost completed her education and had several job prospects.

“We felt a sense of accomplishment in what she was able to move on.”

Overall, she continued, “We’re very excited to let the public know about the great services available at the Career Center and what we’re doing to improve the delivery of those services.

“It is especially important right now, with the high unemployment rate and so many people in need. We want to do all we can to decrease anxiety for both job seekers and employers.”

Doug Hunt, who operates Sunrise Media, praised the job of the WIB.

After meeting with them, he said it took several weeks “for us to wrap our minds around all the fantastic services you provide and the impact it had on us.”

While there isn’t a specific office located here in Carthage, “we do bring services onsite as needed,” Jones said. “The layoff at R.E.S. earlier this year is a prime example. We utilized Fairview Christian Church in Carthage to do the Rapid Response presentation to their affected workforce. On some occasions in which our job counselors are working with individuals from a longer distance, the Career Center will actually have their staff meet with individuals at sites such as public libraries and other public establishments.”

While WIB’s programs fluctuate in popularity due to changing economic conditions, “re-employment services such as job search assistance, help writing resumes, tests to determine career interest, etc. are all popular right now. We also have higher demands and high satisfaction for the training programs... including workshops held at the Career Center or those in partnership with other educational institutions, such as Crowder College.”